Seasoned Disney visitors are familiar with the Birthday Button you can pick up both Walt Disney World and Disneyland. Most guidebooks and website wisdom tells you that if you are celebrating a birthday at the Disney Parks, you should be sure to pick up a Birthday Button to get extra attention and possibly free treats from Cast Members. We asked the Cheapskate Princess fans if they had ever received anything extra special (translation = FREE!) for wearing their Birthday Buttons into the parks, and the answers were fabulous!

If you have ever thought about celebrating a birthday at a Disney park, here are some details about the free swag our fans picked up on their vacations.

Jason, “I got a free dessert the entire week of my birthday at every sit down restaurant we ate at last year. Best birthday ever!”

Christina reminds us why you always need a camera, “For her 12th birthday, we took my daughter to Disneyland. The day we arrived, we had tickets to the special seating with desserts for Fantasmic. Eager to get to the parks, we dropped everything at the hotel and ran over. Later, we got to the designated seating area for the show, and the Disney Cast Member checking us in saw my daughter’s birthday button. He wished her a happy birthday and showed us to our seats. Fifteen minutes later the Cast Member returned, this time with a giant piece of cake on a special Disney Plate with a candle on top. He asked my daughter to come with him for a moment, led her to the center of the crowd, and announced it was her birthday. He lit the candle and led the crowd in singing Happy Birthday to her. There she was in the dark, her face lit by a candle, beaming as 5000-ish people sang, and there I was tearing up and realizing I didn’t have my camera. Naturally, she didn’t finish the cake because it was HUGE, so they packed it up for her, plate and all. She’ll be 19 next month, and we’ve still got the plate and wonderful memories of her 12th birthday.”

Stacy tells us, “We gota free cupcake from Tusker House and the Crystal Palace, plus a free chocolate dessert (AMAZING!) from Cape May. I even have a picture of it!”

Cindy says, “My husband received a free ice cream sundae with Mickey ears on it for his. I have received lovely sweets from the Yachtsman Steakhouse on a plate with Happy Birthday written in chocolate. I also have a cute place mat from Chef Mickey’s.”

Lenora got this favorite, “The Grey Stuff at Be Our Guest!”

Donna received the same thing, “At Be Our Guest, they gave my son ‘The Grey Stuff’ and it WAS delicious!!”

Emlyn got her birthday treat at Disneyland, “At Blue Bayou at Disneyland, my sister and daughter ,who were both celebrating and wearing their buttons, got birthday sundaes with Mickey sprinkles.”

Sharon shares, “Mousekeeping made me a really cool birthday cake out of towels!”

Christina ditched the kids for a special celebration, “In January, my hubby and I spent a few days at Disney just to get away together. Laura, our Mousekeeper at Art of Animation, made the cutest Lovebirds out of wash cloths and left them for us in our room window…now they are looking cute sitting on my entertainment center in my bedroom… LOL!!”

Lenora hit the Mousekeeping surprise jackpot, “We got a birthday cake made out of wash cloths at the Disneyland hotel, a signed photo of Cinderella, and free beignets at Cafe Orleans!”

Mayra says, “My son got a card signed by the Fab Five and a Mickey head balloon, that was left at our room at Port Orleans Resort.”

Kelli snagged a last-minute reservation, which can be worth it’s weight in Mickey gold, “On our recent trip my Disney daughter got free cupcakes at each table service restaurant, a free PB cookie from Big Top Treats, and free custom embroidery on her ear hat. I don’t know if this counts because the meal wasn’t free, but I asked about a last-minute reservation for PL and they said none available. But when they saw my daughter’s pin, they worked her in!”

Christina may have one of our better stories, “At Whispering Canyon for our anniversary a few years ago, my husband and I got free glasses of wine with a strawberry on the rim of the glass. They asked us to stand up and kiss! Then another year at 50’s Prime Time our “cousin” waitress performed an impromptu wedding vow renewal.”

In what was one of my bigger surprises, many of our Cheapskate Princess fans received merchandise from Disney Cast Members.

Teryl tells us, “My daughter got the cupcakes, and Pin Traders gave her a birthday pin when we were trading.”

Chris hit the birthday jackpot,”My son received a large white chocolate Mickey and assorted chocolates from the Grand Floridian, and for his 18th birthday, he got a signed Jack Sparrow poster and about 6 different candy bars wrapped in ribbon from the BWI!”

Sandra also got some swag during their stay at a Deluxe Resort, “At Animal Kingdom Lodge, I got a nice Animal Kingdom Lodge notebook, pen and a key chain.”

Nicole received a Disney Princess treat, “My daughter was fooling around at a shop with a dress up Cinderella doll, and a Cast Member dressed the doll with her, handed her a wand to say the magic words, then told her the wand was hers to keep.”

There is certainly no guarantee that while wearing a Disney birthday button you will receive any swag or special treatment other than a big shout of “HaPpY BiRthDaY!” But if you do, please give that Cast Member a big thanks.

Thanks for stopping by. If you ever held off on your birthday celebration so you could party at a Disney Resort, you just might be a Cheapskate Princess.